RENO, Nev. — A flash fire that injured 13 people at a Nevada science museum happened when an employee applied the chemicals in the wrong order during a tabletop demonstration about the mechanics of tornadoes, officials said Thursday.
Reno firefighters said a three- to five-second blaze erupted Wednesday at the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum after the presenter poured alcohol on a cotton ball that had been dusted with boric acid and partially ignited. The alcohol is supposed to be applied before the acid and the flame.
“It was a simple oversight by the presenter,” Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said in a statement.
Jackie Rider said she was watching the demonstration when the flames leapt toward her children and niece.
“She was on fire, completely on fire,” Rider told KOLO-TV of her niece. “Her hair, her back, her face. My best friend tackled her and was putting her face out with her hands.”
Eight children and one adult were taken to a hospital for minor burns or smoke inhalation, said Reno spokesman Matthew Brown.
